Day 2

Day 2 – Nainital – Ranikhet

Got up a little late as usual and was ready to hit the road by 0900 hours. The road towards the snow view point was quite steep but I managed to reach there in just 15 minutes. The view was ultimate though without a trace of snow. Enjoyed the views for sometime, came back to the town and had breakfast and at 1100 hrs, took the road towards Ranikhet. Now this was just beautiful…It was an ultimate smooth and curvy ride along some very beautiful views…Since it was only a 65 km ride from Nainital, I managed to reach Ranikhet at 1300 hrs…Checked in at Hotel Meghdoot on the Mall Road which turned out to be very nice and so affordable…Staying here was better because it was away from the crowd in the main market area…

After a freshening-up session, it was time for excursions towards the Haira Khan Temple, The Golf Course and the Chaubatia.
Chaubatia is an apple orchid which blooms up in the season but was totally dry at this point in time…It didn’t matter though as the ride was just lovely…Road towards the Haira Khan temple was simply superb with pine and deodar trees all over and the red ground beneath…There was nothing much at the temple dedicated to King Haira Khan said to be a carnation of Lord Shiva, and on the way back I decided to off-road on seeing a lovely track which took me in the middle of hundreds of pine trees…Took a lot of photographs here and there and just enjoyed all the rides…Finally crossed the Golf Course area and in no time saw the sun calling it a day…The day ended on a very good note…In fact I was so immersed in the beauty and silence of the place that I didn’t even realize that it was already time for sunset… The weather became chilly and ultra-cold suddenly after the sunset...
I conclude that Ranikhet, in Almora region of the Kumaon Valley, would now be among the top-slot touring destinations in my list for ever… As there’s nothing else I can say about the place other than…BEAUTIFUL…!!

Trip Meter: 505km

I was a little confused now, as I had not planned anything for the rest of the 2 days that I had…After a good look for 20 minutes at a detailed Uttaranchal map that I found in the hotel, I decided that I would go to the district of Pauri-Garhwal and then on the next day descent to Lansdowne. Pauri was about 280 km from Ranikhet which meant it would take the whole day or in fact I might not even reach there the same day as it’s a very steep ascent. Also the locals in Ranikhet said it might rain heavily in Pauri, by the look of the clouds. So I thought that I should try to reach Baijron (a place in Pauri district) which is about a 100 km from Pauri-Garhwal and also has a diversion towards Lansdowne. I didn’t know that this would turn out to be one hell of an adventurous ride…!!